Some perspective on our place in the Universe from the high Chilean desert

Stunning panoramas from the European Southern Observatory provide a sense of place.

A projected panorama of all four of the Very Large Telescope Unit Telescopes at ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile, as well as a couple of the smaller Auxiliary Telescopes, framed by the arcing Milky Way.

ESO

Adaptive optics, which involve firing strong laser beams into the upper atmosphere, are seen here coming from the Very Large Telescope.

ESO

Another view of ESO's Paranal Observatory.

ESO

A day view at Paranal Observatory. The photographer has captured a equirectangular panorama of the site.

ESO/G. Brammer

The La Silla site is the home to ground-breaking technology and research. The road to the La Silla site shows the stunning detail of a sky without the interference of light pollution.

ESO/Petr Horálek

The landscape at the La Silla observatory in Chile can be seen wrapped around the edge, whilst a comet fires across the Zodiac constellations.

ESO

At the Paranal Observatory, one of the Unit Telescopes points at the center of the Milky Way while its guiding laser is active.

ESO

This panorama of the Chilean Atacama Desert shows the Moon shining overhead. Petroglyphs are visible on the boulders.

ESO

A view of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). Overhead, the Milky Way shines in the center.

And for Ars readers, a 360-degree panorama of the ALMA correlator room. Installed at the remote ALMA high altitude site in the Andes of northern Chile, this is one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world.

ESO

The best observatory in the world is arguably divided among three sites in northern Chile—La Silla, Paranal, and Chajnantor. Each location in the high, arid Atacama desert offers excellent dark and clear skies for the European Southern Observatory's suite of telescopes. At 2,635 meters in elevation Paranal boasts the best instruments, with four 8.2-meter telescopes combining to make up the Very Large Telescope.

Now more than 50 years old, the observatory has played a principal or significant role in a number of major astronomical landmarks, including the discovery of dark energy, finding Proxima b around Proxima Centauri, the observation of stars orbiting the Milky Way Galaxy, and much more.

Further Reading

Such an observatory also fulfills another, more human purpose. Outside of our light-polluted cities (and even countrysides in developed countries), the dark skies above the Atacama offer perspective on Earth's minuscule corner of the observable Universe.

Many of us feel trepidation as 2016 turns into 2017. The world is full of unrest, the new president of the United States is very different from his predecessors, and a spate of celebrity deaths reminds us of life's fragility. Perhaps some perspective might help. So behold—there is much, much more to the Universe than the petty squabbles here on planet Earth.

Latest Ars Video >

The Greatest Leap, Episode 3: Triumph

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Apollo Program, Ars Technica brings you an in depth look at the Apollo missions through the eyes of the participants.

The Greatest Leap, Episode 3: Triumph

The Greatest Leap, Episode 3: Triumph

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Apollo Program, Ars Technica brings you an in depth look at the Apollo missions through the eyes of the participants.